“1My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you,” Proverbs 2:1 AMP
In my previous devotion I explored the issue of “thirsting” for God and His Word. I stated that we all have a spot in us that desperately seeks to reconnect to God. Because the Word of God has so effectively been removed from society, we don’t really understand what will quench our thirst! We go from thing to thing, experience to experience never realizing that it is God and His Word that belong there! To connect with the Holy Spirit we need to “receive” His Word and it will begin to open us to the truth of the need within us. The Apostle Paul identified this as the source of a salvation experience.
“And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith].” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 AMP
We see that receiving the Word is what led to the salvation of the believers, and it is continuing to do its work! The word receive here means to “take to one’s-self or to accept instruction for an authoritative source as in a teacher pupil relationship. The Greeks took this to a new level defining learning outcomes as “moral impulse awakened by truth.” What could be truer than the result of the Word of God? I remember the conviction I had reading Proverbs for the first time. When I had finished, I realized that I was the fool and wanted to be that wise man that loved God and lived life. I wasn’t a Christian at that time, but the Word of God awakened in me that thing I was trying to fulfil, and I knew that God belonged there. You see, the Word of God is exactly that, a mirror which reflects to us the truth and reality of our sins and failures. James used this example when he said,
“For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; 24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. 25But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].” James 1:23-25 AMP
The choice is yours. Respond to the truth or continue to walk in the darkness of your sin. Either way, God has fulfilled His promise to tell you the truth so it will set you free. Everyday we read stories of those who have seen the truth in their own lives yet act to remove those who are simply speaking the truth in love!
The second thing I see in this verse is the word treasure. This is the Hebrew word meaning to put in a secure place for protection against thieves. WOW! Remember this verse,
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” John 10:10 AMP
We must realize that we have a real enemy that does not want us to guard the Word of God in our hearts and put it to use for he understands that then…we are no longer under his power! The first step to opening this relationship with the Holy Spirit is to receive and treasure His Word. A pupil questions the teacher to understand what they are teaching. The pupil’s role isn’t to convince the teacher to change but to allow the information given to change them to a correct understanding of the subject. Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken